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Legislation -
Bill Passed
(Senate)
(63-35) -
Oct. 11, 2011(Key vote)

Title: Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Act of 2011

Vote Result

Yea Votes

Nay Votes

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that authorizes the Department of the Treasury to identify "fundamentally misaligned" currencies, and specifies the actions to be taken in response to the misalignment of foreign currencies.

Highlights:

Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to submit two reports to Congress each year, which shall contain a list of fundamentally misaligned currencies that the Treasury has identified (Sec. 3).

Defines "fundamentally misaligned currency" as foreign currency that has a significant and sustained undervaluation of the prevailing real effective exchange rate, adjusted for cyclical and transitory factors, from its medium-term equilibrium level (Sec. 2).

Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to designate a currency for priority action if the country that issues the currency is (Sec. 4):

Engaging in a large-scale intervention in the currency exchange market, particularly if accompanied by partial or full sterilization;

Engaging in excessive accumulation of foreign exchange reserves;

Restricting the inflow or outflow of capital that is inconsistent with the goal of achieving full currency convertibility; or

Pursuing any other policy or action that, in the view of the Secretary of the Treasury, warrants designation for priority action.

Defines "sterilization" as a domestic monetary operation taken to neutralize the impact of increases in reserves associated with intervention in the currency exchange market (Sec. 2).

Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to perform the following with regard to countries whose currencies have been designated for priority action (Sec. 5):

Consult bilaterally with the country in order to facilitate the adoption of policies to address the misalignment;

Seek the advice of the International Monetary Fund; and

Encourage other governments, either bilaterally or in a multinational forum, to join the United States in seeking the adoption of policies to correct the misalignment.

Specifies that the following measures shall be taken if a country whose currency has been designated for priority action has failed to adopt policies to correct the misalignment within 90 days of the date the currency was designated for priority action including, but not limited to, the following (Sec. 6):

The Secretary of Commerce shall adjust the price of imported goods to reflect the fundamental misalignment of the currency of the exporting country;

The President shall prohibit the Federal government from procuring products or services from the exporting country;

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation shall be prohibited from approving any new financing with respect to a project located within the country; and

The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct all international financial institutions including, but not limited to, the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, to oppose the approval of any new financing to the government of the country or for a project located within the country.

Exempts countries that are party to the Agreement on Government Procurement from the ban on Federal procurement of products and services (Sec. 6).

Specifies that the following measures shall be taken if a country whose currency has been designated for priority action has failed to adopt policies to correct the misalignment within 360 days of the date the currency was designated for priority action including, but not limited to, the following (Sec. 7):

The United States Trade representative shall request consultations in the World Trade Organization with the country regarding the consistency of the country's actions with its obligations under the World Trade Organization agreement; and

The Federal Reserve System shall consider intervening in international currency markets in response to the misalignment of currency.

Authorizes the President to waive any action provided under this act if the President determines that taking such action would cause serious harm to the national security of the United States or if the action would have an adverse impact on the United States economy (Sec. 7).